Ho Chi Minh City firmly preserves and brings into play its traditional values in the era of integration for development

Forty-two years ago, on April 30, 1975, under the leadership of the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam, Sai Gon-Gia Dinh Party Committee, authorities, armed forces, and people, together with the armed forces and people nationwide, ended successfully the war of resistance against the U.S. for national salvation, liberated the South completely, reunified the country, and wrote a new glorious page in our history. To capitalize on its honourable tradition, Ho Chi Minh City is seeking to “build a city of dynamics, creativeness, good living conditions, civilization, modernity, and sentimental attachment” in the process of integration for development.

The April 30th, 1975 – the Liberation Day and National Reunification – represents an important event and unforgettable memory for every Vietnamese. The Great Victory of 1975 Spring is the greatest and most complete victory, putting an end to 30 years’ struggle for national liberation and defence, accomplishing the people’s national democratic revolution in whole country, reunifying the country, and open a new era of independence, freedom and advancing towards socialism. The Party Committee, armed forces and people of Sai Gon-Cho Lon-Gia Dinh made a worthy contribution to that success. “Ho Chi Minh City possesses a rich history and glorious revolutionary tradition. That contribution to the nation and the Party and people’s revolutionary cause is of significant importance,” said General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

“Sai Gon is home to very revolutionary masses, but also the most reactionaries’ last den. The battle here, therefore, will be very fierce and complex.” From the early days of revolution until its complete victory, the City Party Committee and people stood fast, surmounted a series of hurdles and danger at the enemies’ nest and nerve centre, were “the first to fight, but the last to triumph,” and remained loyal to revolutionary ideal, the Party and beloved Uncle Ho. The armed forces and people of Sai Gon-Cho Lon-Gia Dinh fought bravely in all three fronts, including politics, military and agitprop among enemy troops, to achieve resounding feats of arms and impressive success, which contributed to step by step defeating American imperialists’ military strategies and advancing towards the final decisive battle of strategic importance.

During the Great Victory of 1975 Spring, given the rapid evolving situation, under the guidance of the Central Executive Committee’s representative organization in the South, Sai Gon-Gia Dinh Party Committee made preparations for the masses’ final uprising to end the war of resistance; and focused on directing military and political forces and those in charge of conducting agitprop among enemy troops to launch attacks in order to make every necessary preparation for the final decisive battle and the masses’ general uprising. Before the regular army corps entered the City, the armed forces and people of Sai Gon-Gia Dinh, under the leadership of the Municipal Party Committee, had tried their best to get everything ready, from making preparations for the theatre of war to lead the army corps straight to designated targets in the city centre. Attacks launched by the armed forces of Sai Gon-Gia Dinh and uprising of the masses, together with the regular forces’ directions of attack, paralyzed the enemy’s authorities and established the people’s revolutionary administration. That was a perfect combination between general offensive and uprising; “both external and internal offensive”; and the close coordination between the City’s armed forces and people with regular forces aimed at mounting continual attacks in terms of politics, military and agitprop of the enemy’s troops to liberate Sai Gon-Cho Lon-Gia Dinh. As comrade Nguyen Van Linh said “Owing to the sound and perfect combination between general offensive and the masses’ uprising, we liberated and took over the city in an almost intact manner.”

People in Sai Gon waving liberation troops heading into the city in 1975 (File photo)

To achieve this resounding feats of arms, the Party Committee and people of Sai Gon-Gia Dinh always demonstrated a strong will, bravery, ingenuity, and creativity in combat. Raging attacks made by the city’s armed forces gave the enemy’s key targets and nerve centre a beating, making them terrified. Strong opposition of the masses, peoples, religions, students and pupils, etc., shook American imperialists and their lackeys’ aggressive intrigues to their core. A number of officials, party members, comrades and compatriots laid down their lives, heightened the outstanding bravery of the vanguard class and people, and demonstrated their boundless loyalty to the Party, Fatherland and people. Those vivid examples will live forever with the Party and people’s revolutionary cause and future generations.

Since the regeneration of peace, Ho Chi Minh City has undergone a process of building, development and integration, which is characterized as “for the whole nation, together with the whole nation.” Ten years after liberation, the City Party Committee, administration and people continued to overcome the devastating consequences of war, demonstrate their dynamics and creativity in curbing difficulties in the early days of national construction and defence, and make every effort to implement urgent socioeconomic tasks. In the next three decades or so, the City Party Committee and people, together with the whole nation, have realized the tasks of renewing economic management mechanisms and policies, and industrialization and modernization. Despite difficulties, challenges and shortcomings, the city, broadly speaking, witness considerable developments in all fields; record great and comprehensive achievements; bring about fundamental changes in social life; and make vital contributions to general achievements of the whole country. The city’s economy continues to prosper, serving as the driving force for economic growth and development of the key economic area in the South and the whole nation. Urban management and development continue to witness positive changes. Infrastructure has been improved that better facilitates economic development and people’s life as well as international integration. Education and training, and science and technology has shown considerable progress. Social security and people’s material and spiritual life have been increasingly enhanced. Many revolutionary action movements initiated by the city have been responded nationwide and brought about practical effects. Recently, the city has initiated a movement to make its pavements clean and tidy, which has received strong public support. The significant historic achievements recorded by the City’s Party Committee, authorities and people over the past 40 years are attributed to the clear-sighted leadership of the Party and State; support, guidance and attention of the boards, industries and unions at central level; coordination and cooperation of localities; and patriotism, the power of unity, dynamics, creativeness, and sentimental attachment of generations of the city’s officials, party members, armed forces, and various walks of life. Those results will be vital conditions for Ho Chi Minh City to continue to accelerate, strengthen and bring into play its central position in Vietnam, making the city bigger, stronger and better, and so on.

A plenty of precious experience, which was adopted at the 10th Congress of the City Party Committee, can be drawn from rich realities of Ho Chi Minh City’s Party Committee and people over the past few decades. First, it is necessary to bring into play the synthesized strength of the whole political system and the Party Committee, authorities and people’s revolutionary tradition of steadfastness, solidarity, dynamics and creativeness. Second, there is a need to thoroughly grasp and assume high responsibility for the city’s role and position, which can be characterized as a point of convergence and pervasiveness; for the whole country and together with the whole country, implementing well policies on social security, building “people’s hearts and minds posture,” firmly preserving political stability in all situations, and promoting cooperation on economic, cultural and social development with provinces and cities nationwide and international integration. During its building process, it is important to attach economic growth with cultural development, building people and environmental protection. The city’s Party Committee and authorities are imbued with the standpoint of trusting the people, respecting the people, learning from the people, relying on the people, looking after organizations at grassroots level, making the most of the people’s strength to look after themselves, and ceaselessly improving the people’s living standards. Special attention should be paid to combine economic growth with social progress and justice; implement policies related to job creation, income generation, health insurance and social insurance; and speed up programmes to reduce the number of poor households while increasing the number of good households, and mobilize social resources to improve people’s life considerably. At the same time, much effort should be put into making radical changes and cutting down on pressing problems, especially criminal offenses, traffic accidents and congestion, flooding, environmental pollution, epidemics and pandemics, overloaded hospitals, and ethical erosion.

During its building and development, the city combines both operation and practical review; spreads effective models and methods; takes initiative in researching new things and acquiring quintessence of the era; and thoroughly grasps objective law and evolution of life to apply in a flexible and creative manner, commensurate with the city’s typical circumstances and conditions. It also seeks to attach administrative reform with the goals of establishing urban authority, improving management responsibility and effectiveness of the state apparatus in serving the people; proactively and resolutely curb corruption, squandering and bureaucracy in all fields, including land use control, public funds, basic construction investment, and control of state and enterprises’ capital and property. The city advocates carrying out strictly democratic regulations at the grassroots level, administrative reform; completing mechanisms that enable people to contribute to good governance, social criticism and public supervision, especially in socioeconomic policies and planning. It is also determined to prevent and repulse harassment, clamour and insensibility in part of officials and civil servants when performing their duties, while focusing on nurturing pure and strong Party Committee in terms of politics, ideology, organization, and ethics. To achieve those designated goals, the city seeks to implement seriously the Resolution of the 4th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (12th tenure) on Party building and the Politburo’s Directive No.5-CT/TW (12th tenure) on stepping up studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, moral example and lifestyle; concentrates on cultivating qualified officials at various levels, who wholeheartedly devote themselves to the Fatherland and people; assesses, plans and arranges officials on the basis of conduct, capability and prestige; brings into full play the potential of talented people; promotes the vanguard and exemplary role of leaders; strictly implements democratic centralism and working regulations; and closely monitors realities in order to produce correct forecast and appropriate measures to fulfill its designated goals and tasks.

Today, Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, authority and people are making efforts to execute missions and solutions, in a methodical and synchronous manner, identified at the Resolution of the 10th Congress of the City Party Committee. In the spirit of “being the first to go and the first to get ahead,” identifying clearly breakthroughs, and proactively and patiently proposing guidelines and mechanisms that facilitate development and create dynamics for robust development of the key economic area in the South and nationwide, the City Party Committee and people continue to thoroughly perceive and realize the principle of economic development as the central task, Party building as key mission, cultural building as the spiritual foundation of the society, and empowered political resolution to step up building, defence and development. At the same time, the city is also consistent with the goal of socialism, make every effort and proactively take every chance to surmount challenges, maintain socio-political stability, restructure the economy, renovate the model and improve the quality of growth, synchronize infrastructure, and secure rapid and sustainable development with quality and growth rate above the country’s average level. Regular attention should be paid to the building of a healthy cultural environment and civilized and polite people; ceaseless improvement in the people’s material and spiritual lives; preservation of security and defence; successful completion of missions, adopted at the 10th Congress of the City Party Committee, “to build Ho Chi Minh City into a city of good quality of life, civilization, modernity, and sentimental attachment, serving as the driving force in national industrialization and modernization and soon becoming one of the leading economic, financial, commercial, and scientific and technological centres in Southeast Asian region.”

Dinh La Thang, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Municipal Party Committee

The Paris Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Vietnam (Paris Peace Accords) was a glorious victory of Vietnam’s diplomacy in the Ho Chi Minh era. 45 years have elapsed, but the event is still of great theoretical and practical value to diplomatic affairs in general, and to defence diplomacy in particular in the cause of Homeland construction and defence today